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After testing the Mogics Power Bagel (MPB-AB) and the Poweradd Travel Power Strip (PS-9032UR), we’ve added them to the Competition section.
Wall outlets are in short supply on planes and busses and in airports and hotels, so packing a portable power strip is a must for frequent travelers. After researching dozens of models and testing the top contenders, we think the best power strip for North American travel is a product sold under two different brands: You can find it as either the Accell Home or Away Surge Protector or Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Surge Protector. They’re functionally identical, so just pick the one that’s cheaper when you’re ready to order. Both sell for about $20, have three outlets and two USB-A charging ports with adequate spacing for bulkier plugs, and are smaller and lighter than any other travel model we’ve tested.
This compact strip gives you three AC outlets and two USB power ports without taking up much space in a bag or weighing you down.
Functionally identical to the Accell Home or Away, this strip simply comes with a different brand name and color.
These models have been our top picks every year since 2015. Although other companies use a similar design, we've found that the Accell Home or Away Surge Protector and the Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Surge Protector offer the best capabilities at a price that’s usually lower than that of the competition.
This slightly larger strip is the only portable option we tested with truly reliable surge protection capabilities. The 18-inch cord adds a little extra bulk but gives you more flexibility than models that plug directly into the outlet.
If you want surge protection on the go, or prefer a power strip with a cord, the Protect It 3-Outlet Travel-Size Surge Protector is the best choice. It’s the only portable model we tested that is capable of clamping down surges as well as full-size surge protectors—other portable models we tested let more than twice as much surge voltage through, which could potentially damage anything plugged into them. The third AC outlet on the back of the unit helps to keep power bricks out of the way, and the right-angle plug easily fits into tight spots, like behind hotel furniture.
With four international plugs and a protection rating of 100 to 250 volts, the PowerCube charger is a convenient option for overseas travel.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $35.
Our other picks aren’t designed for international use. If you’re going to be traveling outside of North America, we recommend Allocacoc’s PowerCube ReWirable USB. It has two USB-A ports like our other picks, but provides four AC outlets instead of three. And it has two features that make it ideal for international travel: It’s rated for 100 to 250 volts, so it doesn’t need an additional voltage converter, and it includes four interchangeable plugs to fit a wide variety of international wall outlets.
This compact strip gives you three AC outlets and two USB power ports without taking up much space in a bag or weighing you down.
Functionally identical to the Accell Home or Away, this strip simply comes with a different brand name and color.
This slightly larger strip is the only portable option we tested with truly reliable surge protection capabilities. The 18-inch cord adds a little extra bulk but gives you more flexibility than models that plug directly into the outlet.
With four international plugs and a protection rating of 100 to 250 volts, the PowerCube charger is a convenient option for overseas travel.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $35.
Sarah Witman has been a science writer for more than seven years, covering a wide variety of topics from particle physics to satellite remote sensing. Since joining Wirecutter in 2017, she has reported on USB power banks for phones and tablets, portable chargers for USB- and AC-powered laptops, portable power stations, household surge protectors, and more.
Our surge tests in 2017, 2020, and 2021 were performed by our consulting engineer, Lee Johnson, who has more than 10 years of experience designing and testing electrical components.
A portable power strip is great to have while you’re traveling. Access to additional outlets can be a (battery) lifesaver in places like airports and hotels, where wall outlets can be few and far between. A power strip that easily fits into a bag you carry on a plane can mean the difference between enjoying fully charged devices en route or trying to stretch the last 10 percent of your battery over an hours-long flight.
Generally, a power strip is a device that merely adds extra outlets; a surge protector also adds protection against—you guessed it—power surges. Most portable versions are surge protectors in name only and don’t provide a level of protection that we would trust, especially long-term. We’ve highlighted any models that have surge protection similar to what you’d expect from a full-size surge protector.
If you aren’t worried about surges (and the damage they can cause to unprotected devices) and only need to charge USB-powered devices, you might prefer a multiport USB wall charger instead. Or you can skip wall outlets entirely and pack a high-capacity power bank.
We didn’t find many useful professional reviews of travel power strips, so we started from scratch with our own criteria:
Using these criteria, we cut our list of candidates from dozens to just a few. We then combed through warranty policies and read customer reviews on Amazon. We started covering this topic in 2013, and in all that time we’ve found only a handful of models worth testing.
For all the models we tested, we tried plugging a variety of chargers with different plug shapes—for devices like laptops, tablets, digital-camera batteries, and smartphones—into the power strips. We tried different combinations to see which power strips could accommodate the greatest number and variety of devices. We also took into account the design of the power strip and the placement of its plug, and considered if it could be used without blocking the adjoining wall outlet in a two-outlet wall plate.
Next, we looked at the USB charging ports and tested the charging capabilities of each. We did this by plugging in a PortaPow USB Power Monitor along with an iPad Air 2, noting the monitor’s amperage reading. We then connected a second iPad to measure the total output while charging two devices.
Our consulting electrical engineer, Lee Johnson, tested each model with a 5,000-volt surge generator, capable of creating voltage surges 40 times the standard AC power in the US. He started with a series of surges from 160 volts all the way up to 5,000 volts, recording the voltage at the outlet where you would normally plug in your other devices. Then he did a series of five 5,000-volt surges and averaged the outlet measurements to get the protected output voltage.
As a control, Lee also tested an LCD computer monitor’s resilience in the face of a surge. First, he sent a 400-volt surge through the monitor, about the same amount of power that would get through a home surge protector. The monitor powered on and displayed images without a problem. Then he surged it directly with 5,000 volts from our generator, and with a loud pop, the monitor was dead. These tests offer peace of mind, showing that our picks can protect most devices in the face of common power surges—and even rare events up to thousands of volts.
This compact strip gives you three AC outlets and two USB power ports without taking up much space in a bag or weighing you down.
Functionally identical to the Accell Home or Away, this strip simply comes with a different brand name and color.
Accell’s Home or Away mobile power strip (model name D080B-010K for the white version, D080B-011K for the black) edged out its competition in every category: size, design, and USB-charging capability. It’s small, its USB ports charge connected devices as fast as any of the competition, and it’s inexpensive. The Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Surge Protector is the same design with the same capabilities, so just buy whichever one is cheaper the day you order.
The Accell/Tripp Lite design is the only one we saw that keeps all three AC outlets easily accessible at all times, because they’re placed on different faces. Because of this, it can accommodate an impressive variety of devices and plug sizes—we tried every size and shape of device charger and plug we could find, and it handled them all easily (even simultaneously). There might be some combination of plugs that doesn’t work, but we haven’t found it yet. In fact, we even managed to get three of the other, larger power strips to plug into the Accell/Tripp Lite. Other power strips couldn’t handle two large plugs next to each other, but it wasn’t a problem for this model. And though it’s easier to fit very large plugs into the front outlet, larger ones can still squeeze into the side outlets.
At 4½ inches long, 2½ inches wide, and just under 1½ inches deep, the Home or Away and Tripp Lite 3-Outlet are the smallest of any of the power strips we tested. Each easily fits into smaller backpack or carry-on-luggage pockets, and their plug prongs fold away neatly when not in use. You’ll barely notice the 5-ounce weight in your bag.
Despite the small size, the Accell Home or Away and Tripp Lite 3-Outlet are sturdily built. Each stayed solidly in the wall outlet and didn’t wobble around, even when it had three very large plugs and adapters plugged into it. This was a problem with some of the other models—the Belkin, for example, did not sit flush against the wall when plugged in, leaving a gap between the wall and the body of the power strip regardless of whether anything was plugged into it.
That said, the best-designed model would still be useless if it didn’t work well. Fortunately, the Home or Away and Tripp Lite 3-Outlet outperformed the competition in our testing. Each functioned exactly as advertised in our USB speed tests: With a single iPad Air 2 connected to one of the unit’s USB power ports, we saw 2.1 amps of power draw; plugging a first-generation iPad Air into the second USB port halved that figure to each, as expected. This means that with two iPads or other high-draw devices plugged into the unit’s USB power ports, each device’s charging speed will be less than half of what you’ll get with that device’s own charger, or our favorite multiport USB chargers. This is not optimal performance, but it is par for the course for this type of product, and we couldn’t find anything with independent 2.1-amp or 2.4-amp USB ports.
Because they’re rated for only 110-volt outlets, we don’t recommend using the Accell Home or Away or Tripp Lite 3-Outlet internationally. Even if plugged into an international adapter, it’s not a safe option, because most countries have 220-volt electrical grids. If you need an international power strip, we have a recommendation below.
We also find it disappointing that the USB charging speeds don’t match those of modern devices. Sure, you can charge a single high-draw device at close to full speed, but connecting two will charge each at rather slow speeds. Of course, you can always plug a high-speed charger into one of the unit’s three AC outlets, but part of the appeal of USB charging ports on your power strip is being able to leave those chargers at home.
The manufacturers might call this a surge protector, but we don’t—according to our tests, the included protection isn’t likely to save your gear. When we sent a 5,000-volt surge through the Accell Home or Away and the Tripp Lite 3-Outlet, each let nearly 1,000 volts continue through the outlets to attached devices. That’s far more than the 350 to 400 volts that home surge protectors let through, and more than most electronics can handle without dying a loud and smoky death. Because their surge protection is so lacking, we didn’t worry about the one minor difference between the Accell and Tripp Lite strips: The former has a 612-joule rating, and the latter is just 540 joules. This difference means that the Accell might theoretically survive a little more surge damage than the Tripp Lite, but both are so completely dwarfed by home surge protectors (which offer 2,000 to 3,500 joules of protection) that the difference is moot. If you’re looking for portable surge protection, our recommendation is the Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Travel-Size Surge Protector. If that doesn’t cut it, you’re going to need to consider one of our home surge protector picks.
This slightly larger strip is the only portable option we tested with truly reliable surge protection capabilities. The 18-inch cord adds a little extra bulk but gives you more flexibility than models that plug directly into the outlet.
If you want real surge protection on the go, or prefer a power strip with a cord instead of one that sits flush against the wall outlet, the Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet Travel-Size Surge Protector is the best choice. It has an outlet layout that’s almost as good as the one on the Accell Home or Away and Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet, but it adds surge protection that’s more than twice as effective. It is slightly bulkier, which may be a dealbreaker for anyone who packs light.
With two outlets on the front face and a third on the back, the Tripp Lite Travel-Size can accommodate at least one large power brick without blocking the other outlets. In contrast, models like the Cyber Power Systems CSP300WU or the Belkin Mini Surge Protector put all three outlets in a row, where a single power brick can get in the way of adjacent outlets.
Because the Tripp Lite Travel Size plugs into the wall with an 18-inch cord instead of sitting right at the wall outlet, it doesn’t block the second outlet like other units can. And because it has a right-angle wall plug, this strip is a far better solution for outlets positioned behind furniture—a huge plus if you’re often plugging into obstructed outlets in hotel rooms, hostels, or short-term rentals.
Not only does the Tripp Lite Travel-Size provide better protection for each individual surge, but it should handle more surges before wearing out.
Aside from the outlet spacing and the flexibility of a corded model, the other reason to choose the Tripp Lite Travel-Size is its solid performance as a surge protector. When we hit it with repeated 5,000-volt surges, it let only an average of 447 volts through to the outlets. That’s close to the performance of our favorite home surge protectors, which let between 368 and 444 volts through in the same test. Three other portable models that we tested allowed nearly 1,000 volts to pass from our surge generator to the power strip outlets where your devices would be connected. That’s far from true surge protection and enough to endanger most electronics.
Not only does the Tripp Lite Travel-Size provide better protection for each individual surge, but it should handle more surges before wearing out. The protection circuitry inside is rated to take a cumulative 1,050 joules, or about twice that of one of our top picks in this guide. Though joule ratings aren’t perfectly linear, this means that the Travel-Size should offer surge protection for much longer.
Like our other picks, the Travel-Size also includes two USB ports that charge devices at up to 2.1 amps. But also like every portable power strip we tried, that total is shared between the two ports. Apple and some other manufacturers include 1-amp chargers with their phones, so charging with the Travel-Size will actually be faster, even when charging two phones at a time. But most modern phones and tablets can fast-charge at more than 2 amps, so if you’re charging multiple devices at the same time, you’ll be better off with a dedicated USB charger.
With four international plugs and a protection rating of 100 to 250 volts, the PowerCube charger is a convenient option for overseas travel.
*At the time of publishing, the price was $35.
While all of the power strips we tested are convenient for traveling, none are recommended for use outside of North America, because none are rated for use with the 220-volt outlets found in most European and Asian countries. In fact, many of the manuals included with these power strips specifically state that their warranties are void should you use them outside the US.
One option that will work abroad—and the only such model we found that met the rest of our criteria—is Allocacoc’s PowerCube ReWirable USB. The PowerCube works with 100 to 250 volts, so it can be safely plugged in pretty much anywhere in the world.
The PowerCube ReWirable USB is a 2½-inch cube and weighs just a little more than 7 ounces. It has one outlet on each of its four outside faces, plus two USB ports on the face opposite its own AC plug. This design ensures full access to each outlet by almost any size plug without any of those plugs blocking the other outlets. The USB ports share the available 2.1 amps, much like on our other picks.
The PowerCube unit includes four interchangeable AC plugs to fit Australian, European, UK, and North American (including the US, Canada, and Mexico) outlets. The plugs are easy to swap in and out as needed, and because they push the cube a fraction of an inch away from the wall, the wall plate’s second outlet will be accessible for most plugs and power bricks in most situations. However, the extra plugs are easy to misplace—we recommend getting a designated bag organizer to keep track of them.
The PowerCube unit works with 100 to 250 volts, so it can be safely plugged in pretty much anywhere in the world.
Though it’s not advertised to provide any surge protection, we found the PowerCube knocked 5,000-volt surges down to the same 900- to 1,000-volt range as the Accell Home or Away and Tripp Lite 3-Outlet. That is to say, the surge protection is minimal, and we wouldn’t rely on it.
If you need a portable power strip while traveling, we still think our top picks are the best options. Over the past four years, three Wirecutter editors have taken the Accell Home or Away and Tripp Lite Protect It 3-Outlet on dozens of trips. After extensive use, the foldable plug on one of the power strips got stuck in the out position, but they’ve all been trouble-free otherwise.
360 Electrical’s 2-Outlet Mini Surge Protector has an innovative design: two AC outlets side by side, each of which rotates a full 360 degrees to maximize space for devices with larger plugs. This design works well, and with a little maneuvering we were easily able to plug in two large, transformer-size adapters without obscuring the adjacent USB ports. The unit is also conveniently just 5 inches long and 2 inches wide—only slightly larger than the Accell and Tripp Lite power strips—and the plug folds away nicely. But it has only two outlets instead of three, and the USB ports charge devices slightly more slowly than the ports on our top picks. Last, the two LED indicators are so bright that they could double as a night-light in an otherwise dark room, which is less than ideal when sleeping in hotels.
Belkin’s Travel RockStar Surge Protector is a cool concept on paper. It combines the benefits of a travel surge protector with those of a portable USB battery pack. Unfortunately, it’s about twice as heavy and takes up more space than the Accell power strip, yet it has one less outlet and only a single, 2-amp USB port. A 3,000 mAh battery sets the Travel RockStar apart from the pack, as it’s the only such combo we’ve seen. However, buying the Accell or Tripp Lite unit and a great portable USB battery separately would cost you a lot less than this 2-in-1 Belkin, and although the two pieces will take up a bit more space in your bag, it’s easier to walk around with just a power bank than with the large Travel RockStar. We hope Belkin iterates on this concept, but it’s simply not great yet.
Out of all of the models we looked at, Belkin’s Mini Surge Protector was the most popular on Amazon and around the web. That popularity earned it the right to stick around during our research phase, when we would have otherwise dismissed it for a tight outlet placement that makes it impractical to use with large power bricks. But when we brought it in for testing, the design proved to be a real problem. Plus it weighs almost twice as much as the 5-ounce Accell and Tripp Lite units, and it’s considerably longer and wider than the rest of the competition. The swiveling plug can be rotated out of the way of a wall plate’s second outlet, but the button to swivel and the plug itself both tend to get stuck. For our household surge protector guide, we tested a newer version of this model, the Belkin BST300BG, and it was one of the worst performers, letting through more than 800 volts of our 5,000-volt surges.
Like our top picks, the CyberPower Professional Series CSP300WU has three AC outlets, two USB-A ports, and a fold-up, grounded plug. But its outlets are too tightly spaced to use all three at once, especially with larger plugs.
The Mogics Power Bagel (MPB-AB) has more outlets than our current pick for traveling abroad, and it has a retractable cord as well as a unique (in our experience) design that allows you to pack up the international adapters inside the body of the unit. However, it’s more expensive than our current pick, and it didn’t provide any surge protection in our testing.
The Poweradd Travel Power Strip (PS-9032UR) has a retractable cord and more outlets than our favorite corded option, but it costs more, lacks a surge-protection indicator light, and the protection it offers is minimal. In our testing, it let through about 1800 volts, which is more than enough power to fry most devices.
The RND Power Solutions Wall Power Station is too bulky, and the outlets are too close together.
Sarah Witman has researched, tested, and reviewed all manner of products—from massage chairs and mousetraps to pencils and power banks—since joining Wirecutter in 2017. Before that, she worked as a science writer and fact checker for numerous publications, and she studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin. In her spare time, she eats as much cheese as her body will tolerate.
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